Process of treating scrap-brass.



' No- 830,601. PATENTED SEPT. 11, 1906.

H. J. KREBS.

PROCESS OF TREATING SCRAP BRASS. APPLICATION FILED no.5. 1905.

wrteo'a eon VZ ILc aM/OIT HENRY J. KREBS, OF WILMINGTON, DELAlVARE. I

PROCESS OF TREATING SCRAP-BRASS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 11, 1906.

Application filed December 5, 1905. Serial No. 290,412.

To (all whom it many concern:

Be'it known that I, HENRY .J. Km:Bs,-a

citizen of the United'States, residing at Wilable metals andcontemplates the recovery of the copper in metallic form and theconversion of the'zinc, lead, and tin into oxids.

brass or alloy is melted and subjected to the salt.

the valve 12 so as to deliver the desired per- In carrying out theprocess the scrapaction of air, preferably in a cupola-furnace, therebyoxidizing the zinc and the lead and tin if present. The oxids escapefrom the furnace as a fume and may be caught in bags for use as apigment or may be dissolved in.

acidto produce salts of the netals. v A suitable apparatus for carryingout th process is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which the figureis a vertical longitu- 'dinal section of a cupolafurnace and of themeans for cooling and recover ng-the fume.

The cupola-furnace 1 of any usual or preferred construction opens at itsupper end into a chamber 2, having a charg'ng door or doors 3. From thischamber an outlet 4 leads to a separating and cooling system comprisingthe cylinder 5 and the cooling-sec tions 6, having connectionsalternately at their opposite ends. From the last section 6 a pipe 7leads to the fan 8,'which delivers to the conduit 9 and the bags 10.From the conduit 9 a pipe '11, controlledby a rockvalve 12, leads to thelower end of a tower 1-3,

constructed of or lined with acid-proof material and provided at itsupper end with spraypipes 14. The tower is filled with checker-- work,quartz pebbles, -or other deflecting means 15. a

In employing this apparatus to produce a pigment the scrap-brass ismelted'in the eupola and the air-blast om'dizes the zinc and the leadand tin if present. The oxid fume rises and escapes with the products ofcombustion through the outlet 4 into the separator 5, wherein thecinders and coarser particles precipitate. The fume passes on throughthe cooling-sections 6 and is delivered 'bythe fan through the openconduit v9 to the bags 10 or-any other usual device for catching the0nd. The purified copper remaining in the cupola-furnace'is tapped outand may be cast into ingots or refined in another furnace. If it isdesired to convert the zinc or other oxids to salts, the valve 12 isrocked to close the passage to the bags and open the pipe 11. issupplied to the pipes 14 and falls through the checker-work in thetower, wherein it 1s met by the rising fume. The resulting zinc sulfateand other soluble salts may be drawn off through a valved outlet and thelead sulfate and other insoluble residues removed through an opening.(Not shown.) In some cases it may be desirable to simultaneously recoverdifferent portions of the oxid fume as a pigment and in the form of anacid This result may be effected by setting centages to the bags and theacid-tower.

While a cupola-furnace is preferably employed to both melt the brass andoxidize the zinc, the scrap metal may be first melted in a cupola,reverberatory, or cruclble furnace and then transferred to a Bessemerconverter to effect the oxidation, the converter being provided with theusual twyers for 1njecting air-into the molten metal and with a closedtop and an outlet for the fume.

I claim- 1. The process of treating scrap-brass and similar coperalloys, which consists 1n melt ing the a loy, converting theeasily-oxidizable metals in the alloy into an oxid fume, and recoveringthe fume and the purified copper, as set forth. 1

2. The process of treating scrap-brass and similar copper alloys, whichconsists in melt ing the alloy, converting the easily-oxidizable metalsin the alloy into an oxid fume, cooling the fume, and recovering thefume and the purified copper, as set forth.

3. The process of treating scrap-brass and similar copper alloys, whichconsists in melting the alloy, converting the easily-oxidizable metalsin the alloy into an oXid-fume, separating the coarser particles fromthe fume, cooling the fume, and recovering the.

fume'and the purified copper, as set forth. 4. The process of treatingscrap -brass, which consists in melting the brass m a eupola-fin'naceand oxidizing the zinc in the the oxidatlonj molten metal, dischargingproducts from the furnace and cooling them, and recovering the zinc oxidand punfied copper, as set forth.

5. The process of treating scrap-brass,

A suitable acid solution which consists in melting the brass in acupola-furnace and oxidizing the zinc in the molten metal, dischargingthe oxidation products from the furnace, separating the coarserparticles and cooling the fume, and recovering the zinc oxid andpurified copper, as set forth.

6. The process of treating scrap-brass, which consists in melting thebrass in a cu pola-furnace and oxidizing the zinc in the molten metal,discharging the oxidation products from the furnace, separating thecoarser particles and cooling the fume, collecting the zinc oxid in bagsor other suitable receptacles, and discharging the purified copper fromthe furnace, as set forth.

7. The process of treating scrap-brass,

which consists in melting the brass in a eupola-furnace and oxidizingthe zinc in the molten metal, discharging the oxidation products fromthe furnace, separating the coarser particles and cooling the fume,collecting the zinc oxidfrom one portion of the fume and treatinganother portion of the fume with an acid solution for the production ofa salt, and discharging the purified copper from the furnace, as setforth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

HENRY J. KREBS.

Witnesses:

C. M. GRooME, A. A. ROBINSON.

